The present invention relates generally to the field of food preparation and more particularly to the seasoning of meats and other solid foods. The present invention is particularly useful for seasoning meats, including but not limited to, beef, poultry and fish.
The use of seasonings, herbs and other food additives, in conjunction with the preparation and cooking of solid foods is of ancient origin. Such seasonings and additives are typically sprinkled on the outer surfaces of the solid food to be prepared prior to cooking or during the actual cooking of the food. The intention is to improve the flavor of the food or to make it more palatable. It has been found that the best use of the seasonings and additives can be achieved if such ingredients can be injected inside of the food and not merely limited to distribution on the outer surfaces of the food. Common methods of injecting the seasonings within the food include the use of a knife or fork to penetrate the food with the intention and expectation that the seasonings will be drawn into the food thus becoming more widely distributed throughout the food.
Such simplistic methods as penetrating the food with a knife or fork has proven to be inadequate for seasoning purposes, and as a result many other methods for distributing seasonings and additives have been proposed. Many of the proposed devices however, are elaborate or cumbersome, and not well suited for household use by an individual housewife preparing a meal.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,916,777 for example teaches a meat tenderizing system however it is altogether too elaborate for average household use. The system dispenses an enzyme into the meat through an injection needle attached to a hose. U.S. Pat. No. 4,178,660 also teaches an apparatus for distributing additives in meat, but this device is also too complicated for the average housewife.
It injects additives into the body of the meat, which additives are housed in a cylinder, and are forced into the meat when it has been pierced. U.S. Pat. No. 4,414,885 is also of a similar nature. This system injects food additives inside the meat by forcing the additives out of a cylinder by means of a plunger that is attached to the device.
Other devices have been proposed for tenderizing meat that rely upon blades and knives to cut the sinew and tendon included in the meat and thereby increase the tenderness of the meat by such means. U.S. Pat. No. 4,908,909 for example teaches a meat hammer which is operated by a piston. U.S. Pat. No. 5,593,346 contemplates a meat tenderizing mallet that injects tenderizing fluids into the meat through apertures on the mallet head. U.S. Pat. No. 4,242,774 is also a meat tenderizer that has as its intent and purpose, the cutting of fiber in the meat utilizing the sharp teeth found on the meat tenderizing device. Finally U.S. Pat. No. 5,922,377 teaches an apparatus for flavoring food that utilizes a rod to penetrate the meat and deposit the food flavorings that are attached to the rod. The flavorings have been loosely held to the rod through the use of a binder agent. To distribute flavorings throughout the entire body of meat the rod must be inserted a number of times or, alternatively, several rods must be utilized.
Although each of these devices and others like them address the subject of food preparation and more particularly the preparation of meat, poultry and fish there still remains a need to provide a quick, easy and efficient method of distributing food seasonings throughout the solid food that can be utilized by the typical housewife in the household.